It’s that time of year when just about every newspaper in the state gives front-page attention to at least one local graduation. They’re always a big deal, especially to those who walk across that ceremonial stage and make their families proud.

Graduations mark a transition in our lives, but sometimes I think it’s over-emphasized. Anyone who thinks a diploma or degree is a ticket to success is sadly mistaken. It’s just a ticket to ride; you still have to get there on your own.

The Lebanon (Pennsylvania) Daily News on freedom of speech:
I take my freedom of speech straight up — no mixers; no chasers; not shaken; not stirred.
We forget, in our world where everything is “the biggest,” ‘’the best,” ‘’the greatest ever” that not every strong statement is mere hyperbole to be ignored.

The energy, the excitement, the enthusiasm is always amazing. Flashing cameras and flowing tears. Family and friends, some of who have traveled great distances, anxiously awaiting the ceremony. High school seniors finishing their 12th year of schooling, about to gain their independence. Excited teenagers all dressed up in their caps and gowns ready to make the rite of passage on to life’s next challenge.

I was born and raised in northern New Mexico, but it wasn’t until about 30 years ago that I felt like I was really home.

That was when my parents moved my brothers and me to San Miguel County to be closer to the wilderness. My mother grew up in southern Colorado and wanted her children to have the same incredible outdoor experiences that she had.

So what’s the issue? The matter is that the Summer Guide, bundled with Sunday’s Albuquerque Journal, acted as if Las Vegas doesn’t even exist, despite two half-page ads touting the Meadow City. Does paid advertising guarantee some kind of mention in the Journal’s 64-page booklet?

Mora County officials recently settled with some high-powered plaintiffs in a couple of lawsuits that effectively put an end to the county’s attempt to place a permanent ban on oil and gas drilling inside its county lines.

The power of five individual fingers working independently is no match for a fist of five fingers working together in harmony. Unity of effort provides results. Unity increases results exponentially. In other words, one plus one plus one does not equal three, it equals nine or twelve or fifteen. Unity multiplies a team’s efforts.

Los Angeles Times on the USA Freedom Act (May 6):
Last fall, Congress was on the verge of doing away with the most troubling invasion of privacy revealed by Edward Snowden: the National Security Agency’s indiscriminate collection of the telephone records of millions of Americans. But then opponents cited the emergence of Islamic State as a reason for preserving the status quo. The Senate failed to muster the 60 votes needed to proceed with the so-called USA Freedom Act.